On 4/2, the Traffic and Technical Infrastructure Management Center, under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, mobilized workers and machinery to dismantle components of the T3 toll booth on National Highway 51. This booth, along with the T1 and T2 booths in Dong Nai, ceased operations in 1/2023 at the request of the Vietnam Road Administration.

Around 9h, workers cordoned off a section of the lane heading from Ba Ria to Dong Nai to facilitate construction. Two excavators and about 20 workers proceeded to dismantle median strips and steel pillars shielding the toll booths. They then loaded the components onto trucks and transported them away from the site.

Mechanical vehicles dismantle concrete strips in the toll lane. *Truong Ha*

Ngo Van Tho, Deputy Director of 886 Thanh Nam Company, the contractor, stated that they would first dismantle the concrete strips and toll booths, while organizing two-way traffic diversion for vehicles traveling from Ba Ria to Dong Nai. Subsequently, the dismantling process will be carried out similarly in the opposite direction.

According to Tho, the dismantling team will remove the canopy system and pillars last to minimize congestion and ensure traffic safety. All components of the toll booth will be transported to a warehouse for handover to the owner. The dismantling process is expected to take about 8 days.

National Highway 51 is a main artery connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Dong Nai. In 2009, authorities assigned the Bien Hoa - Vung Tau Expressway Development Joint Stock Company (BVEC) to implement a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to expand 72 km of National Highway 51. With a total investment of nearly 3,800 billion VND, toll collection began in 4/2013 and was projected to conclude in 1/2030.

Workers use cutting torches to dismantle steel structural components at the T3 toll booth. *Truong Ha*

However, traffic volume increased higher than projected, altering the financial plan and resulting in an earlier end to toll collection than initially planned. After the booths ceased collecting tolls at the request of the Road Administration, the settlement and negotiation to terminate the BOT contract have not yet been completed for the transfer of assets to public ownership.

Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction had requested relevant parties to dismantle the T3 toll booth before 25/12 to reduce congestion and ensure traffic safety on National Highway 51.

In response to this request, BVEC stated that stopping toll collection left the company without funds for road maintenance, while it still owed shareholders approximately 307 billion VND and had outstanding bank loans of about 470 billion VND. The investor argued that the collateral for these loans was the right to collect tolls at the three booths on National Highway 51, therefore, any dismantling or modification of the booths required written consent from the involved banks.

Truong Ha